February 11, 2022
9
NAVSUP FLCSI Supports HSTCSG During Neptune Strike 2022 By NAVSUP FLSCI Public Affairs
ogisticians assigned to Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Sigonella and L its mission partners delivered aviation fuel and more
than 800 pallets containing mail, food provisions and cargo to crewmembers of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) through strategic locations at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, and Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Greece in support of the NATO-led activity Neptune Strike, Jan. 24-Feb. 4, 2022. “Our command’s logistics mission sets focus on ensuring warfighters, both ashore and afloat, operating across U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa, have the supplies and repair parts they need to execute their mission, particularly during activities like Neptune Strike, for which readiness is of utmost importance,” said Capt. Douglas MacKenzie, NAVSUP FLCSI commanding officer. “We realize that moving warfighters’ mail in and out of the area of responsibility plays a significant role in sustaining positive morale aboard Carrier Strike Group (CSG) ships whose crewmembers are away from their families. High morale means sustained focus on successfully completing all mission objectives.” Neptune Strike 2022 highlighted the natural evolution of NATO’s ability to integrate the high-end maritime warfare capabilities of a carrier strike group to support the defense of the alliance. Neptune Strike 2022 accomplished the long-planned handover of command and control of the HSTCSG from U.S. Sixth Fleet (SIXTHFLT) to Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) and the wider
alliance. “The capability of SIXTHFLT and STRIKFORNATO combined staffs to enable a handover of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group demonstrates the power and cohesiveness of our maritime forces and the NATO alliance,” said Vice Adm. Gene Black, commander, SIXTHFLT and STRIKFORNATO. “NATO’s command and control of a CSG is the result of decades of alliance maritime interoperability.” Neptune Strike 2022 is the execution phase of a long series of activities known as Project Neptune, conceptualized in 2020. The activity focuses on overcoming the complexities of integrating command and control of a carrier strike group to NATO. SIXTHFLT, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa. STRIKFORNATO, headquartered in Oeiras, Portugal, is Supreme Allied Commander Europe’s (SACEUR) premier, rapidly deployable and flexible, maritime power projection Headquarters, capable of planning and executing full spectrum joint maritime operations. FLCSI is one of NAVSUP’s eight globally-positioned commands that provides for the full range of solutions for logistics, business and support services to the Navy, Joint and Allied Forces across 14 enduring and forward operating sites; forward contingency and cooperative security locations in 13 countries in Europe and Africa.
